I work for a publisher. Ask me anything.

[isthatapugunicorn]

I’m a senior sales bod at a global publisher... involved in everything from proposal thru to promo.

[KirstyHasLeft]

How very encouraging!
I am a gay woman with a (what I think) wonderfully twisted gay novel inside my head. I was thinking of not writing it as there would be very limited number of people interested in the story. But the more I learn about gay women, books and life in general - the more I think there would be lots of people who would find my story relatable and interesting.
I have been carrying the idea for over a year - maybe I should try to finally write it. :)

[Sooverthemill]

I also am so grateful for this. I'm going to book myself onto a beginner writing course online and see where that takes me!

[Madhairday]

Ooh, good questions re YA ThatUsedToBe - I'd be interested too. I often think my YA isn't angsty enough and that might be why it's not been taken up - it's possibly a bit too adventure-story. It covers issues and is quite political but the characters are not endlessly navel-gazing - partly to do with the fact that the society they live in has changed so much so they don't know how to!

[Madhairday]

Thank you so much for this thread, OP, it's very illuminating.

I had my first book published this year (non fiction) and it's doing well in its market but my passion is to get my fiction stuff published. My question is about whether markets get too soaked - for example, is YA dystopian done and dusted now? I had good feedback from agents on my MS - was told it was well written, intriguing etc - but then told there was just too much out there in this particular genre. This was a year or two back now and I've not done anything much with the MS since, apart from half-heartedly researched self-publishing it, which I could do but friends have been self-published and their books have all but disappeared sadly, good books too.

It's so reassuring to read your words about authors who aren't necessarily the ideal package. My heart sinks whenever I read advice about marketing and publicity because it's always get out there, go to conferences, meet people, be known - I'm chronically ill and housebound a lot of the time, and have very little energy the rest of the time, so this kind of 'out there' marketing isn't something I am able to do. However, I've built up a bit of a platform with this book online - it's a lot of work though and still small numbers relatively.

When do you think an author should give up a certain project and move on?

Thank you so much for all your insights :)

[ThatUsedToBeMyName]

As a children’s bookseller - my biggest gripe is the YA section. There are some superb and I mean genuinely superb stories in the 9-12 section but YA is soooo issue driven. And very girl heavy. I want books which are a ripping good read but don’t HAVE to involve - self harming, dead parents, coming out - always in such a negative way
(!) dead friends, suicide, drugs etc etc. Those books need to be written but in the subsection of YA, they are over represented IMO.

I’m the parent of teens myself. I think their worlds are full of anxiety and fear and unrealistic expectations - bloody social media. It would be great for them to have access to some pure escapism and distraction in teen books rather than more angst and issues.

Any thoughts on YA OP? What’s the feeling about it in the publishing world. We always mention this problem to our reps when they come in and they agree but nothing changes in the books we are being shown!

And yes, the pay in bookshops is still dire If I could hack the commute into London I think I would look into trying to move into publishing - such an exciting world!

[TalentedMsRipley]

Love this thread too.

[Verily1]

Thanks so much for your time unicorn.

This is one of my favourite threads ever on MN!

[isthatapugunicorn]

If I can't be as good as, say, Joyce Carol Oates is there any point?

Ha! I'm sure every author thinks this at some point, when they're only half way through the first draft and they go into their local bookshop and see the thousands of books on the shelves, some by world renowned writers.

But even the greatest writers started somewhere, and there are many amazing writers who quite frankly bore me to death... so go and write a story that you would want to read yourself and see where it gets you.

[isthatapugunicorn]

Hellomatey001 - write what you want is the answer to that... doesn't have to be 'issue' based, does have to be good. I mentioned My sister the Serial Killer before - set in Lagos, absolutely not an issue based novel

[Hellomatey001]

Another question OP, (you've been so helpful I have to ask another!) picking up on previous posters queries, do you want minority/WC writers to write issue based novels? Would it still be ok for a BAME author to write something that was say, a fantasy novel, with no mention of race? Would publishers still view that positively?

I write as someone who was once told by a Radio 4 producer that as an Asian writer, he was disappointed my first play was not about race or arranged marriages as they had "quotas to fill".

[Sooverthemill]

helmetbymidnight (thank you! Ooh I'm WC so I have an angle too). I would encourage anyone who wants to write to just get on and do it but gosh I have a very high standard for myself and think I wouldn't be good enough. I will ponder more.

[IrmaFayLear]

I think what "minority" fiction needs is great writers who writes great stories that are not issue based, eg detective novels set in a Muslim (or whatever) community (not London). Just straight good stories. Focusing on "struggles" becomes very wearing and doesn't hook people in to a series.

[Helmetbymidnight]

Working class.

Soover, I'm sure OP will have a good answer, but my answer would be: why not you?
And don't forget Joyce Carol Oates and all the big names were unpublished, rejected (presumably!) disillusioned wannabe writers once, with big dreams. No different to where you are now...

[Sooverthemill]

isthatapugunicorn (what does WC stand for? Driving me crazy)

I have a voracious appetite for reading novels. I read most stuff and tend to go heavy on 'literary' fiction. I used to write some short stories,. I kind of feel I have a novel in me but who doesn't? I'd like to take the plunge and often look at course to help me start but I'm nervous. If I can't be as good as, say, Joyce Carol Oates is there any point? There are so many truly brilliant authors out there, why would anyone read me?

[Zilla1]

isthatapuguniocorn

As well as writing fiction, I'm interested in your views about the wider industry.

In the chain of author - agent - publisher - bookshops/Amazon, the big publishers seem to make the healthiest profits at the moment, smaller independent publishers less so.

Most bricks and mortar bookshops appear to struggle. UK supermarkets seem to sell at low price though I'm not sure whether these low prices still make a significant profit for them (pile them high, sell them cheap and still make a profit) or if popular books are somewhat of a loss leader like milk.

Amazon seem to be making long-term investments presumably to make larger profits when their competition has eroded. Amazon have built up a big footprint in hard format books, as well as ebooks and audio books. There were ebooks and audio before but Amazon's investment in the Kindle and Audible platforms seem to have really grown this market.

I've not seen any information about the profitability of agents. Agents don't seem to have much direct costs beyond their time and the agent industry seems to be a spectrum from large corporates/partnerships across different creative industries to small one person offices.

UK author average earnings appear around £10,000 I think according to the SoA, with a highly uneven distribution between best selling authors and the rest. There is a lot of competition amongst authors with many wanting to join and complaining when they can't get agents and publishers interested in their novels so the relatively low average earnings for an activity with lots of competition, no costs of entry except time and for something that can be done part time while still earning doing other employment perhaps isn't a surprise.

Does that seem an accurate analysis to you or where do you think it's wrong, please?

As a senior bod in a large publisher, why do you think the large publishers have currently managed to maintain their profitability when, in theory, the barriers to entry for new imprints appear so low - new authors appear willing to submit to any publisher and agent willing to look at their books; the printing and distribution parts of the industry don't appear controlled by the main publishers; and bookshops and Amazon appear open to new publishers with books that appear good enough to sell?

Looking forward, what will the main publishers be able to do to avoid Amazon damaging their business in the longer term given Amazon appear willing to invest to build a powerful position at a loss or for low profits in hard, ebook and audio book sales, enable direct publishing and willing to sign some new authors up exclusively to their own imprint somewhat bypassing publishers?

Thank you.

[Helmetbymidnight]

Thanks op, its been a really illuminating thread. And fab that you're still so invested in getting good writing and great stories out there.

(Rosa, I write under a pen-name and am in no way a product or expected to be.)

[CaptainBrickbeard]

Thank you, OP, that crystallises it in my head - something honestly just went ‘click’! This thread has been so helpful and inspiring!

[isthatapugunicorn]

Rosa - we’re at cross purposes I think. YOU as the writer make something original because of the way you write, whether that is under your name or another is irrelevant. Your life, experience, skill, style are all shaping the story you tell.
Sometimes that’s obvious, sometimes not. Keep writing.

[RosaWaiting]

"The only ‘original’ thing about any book or story or narrative is you, the author."

this is one of the reasons I stopped writing (relatively recently). I wanted to write under a pen name and I never wanted to be the product myself.

[isthatapugunicorn]

If you write a great story then the ‘trend’ is irrelevant and the genre never saturated. Really, there are no ‘original’ stories, they’ve all been told. The only ‘original’ thing about any book or story or narrative is you, the author.

[isthatapugunicorn]

CakeRage, Captain Brickbeard
Write - and write - and write. Tell the best story you can, make it original and engaging, tell it well, write the way YOU speak so it is your story, write the story you want to read. The rest, well that’s up to your agent and/or publisher, to sell it, market it, publicise it. Don’t over think it.

[CaptainBrickbeard]

Love this thread! I’m writing my first novel now and I went to a really interesting course run by a literary agent that helped me to think realistically about actually getting it out there (once it’s finished!) My question is about trends in publishing - I love reading fiction based on Ancient Greek mythology and there are some big selling novels out there at the moment in that genre, such as Circe by Madeleine Miller, The Silence of the Girls, The Furies - a lot seem to be coming out. I found it really inspiring and thought finally, there is a market for what I’ve always wanted to write! But how quickly does that market become saturated? By the time I’ve noticed a trend, will publishers still be looking for it or will it be considered burnt out??

[CakeRage]

Thanks for taking the time to reply, OP. Much appreciated.

Unfortunately I think I fall into the grey areas on both. Foreign enough to be different but still pretty much English and definitely white. And not WC enough for gritty real-life stories but still definitely WC enough to have no money or connections!

I’ll just have to make my writing extra exciting because my persona isn’t doing me any favours by itself

[Opossooom]

I’m literally making notes, and forming my characters as we speak. And this threat has invaluable information for when the time comes. I mean your job sounds amazing! Thank you OP!

[RosaWaiting]

Sorry op I probably wasn’t clear enough

Are publishers looking for BAME writers to write any story? Because my experience and the experience of published author friends has been that publishers want “diversity” to extend to the topic.